Retort.



No. 818,070. PATENTED APR. 17, 1,906.

' R., ZIESING.

RETORT.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.29,1903.

00 alga/M45, M,

RICHARD ZIESING, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

RETORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 17, 1906.

Application filed December 29, 1903. Serial No. 186,990.

T0 at whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, RICHARD ZIESING, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga andState of Ohio, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements inRetorts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in retorts especially adapted forthe distillation of Zinc from its ore or oxid, particularly as employedin the so-called Belgian process, my object being the construction of atype of retort avoiding numerous disadvantages of those of the priorart, such as the unnecessary loss of metal during the process of distillation, and increasing the life or period of use of the retorts.

In the Belgian furnace, since the retorts are supported only at theirends, thus affording ready access of the flame and heated gases to thebottoms and sides thereof, the dimensions of said retorts are withincertain limits necessarily fixed by reason of the character of thematerials of which they are constructed and the high degree of heatrequisite in the process. The length must be such that the retort andcontained ore charge will be amply supported from the ends during thelong-continued heating, while the walls should be only of sufficientthickness to secure the necessary durability and insure the maxi mumeffect of the heat upon the contents of said retort. The walls,moreover, must be so proportioned that they will dry evenly and withoutcracking in the process of completing the retort. In practice, howeverit is found that while the top and sides of a retort of the usual typeare not seriously affected by repeated distillations the bottom iscommonly attacked and perforated, particularly when impure ores aretreated containing lead, iron, or lime. This not only occasions largelosses of zinc, but renders necessary the frequent replacement of theretorts. Accordingly I have sought to provide a retort in which thesedefects are remedied by embodying improvements which I shall belowdescribe in some detail, in connection with the accompanying drawings,wherein Figure I is a perspective view of a type of retort constructedin accordance with my invention. Fig. II is a longitudinal sectionalview on line-II II, Fig. V; and Figs. III, IV, and V are cross-sectionalviews of retorts of somewhat varying proportions embodying my mvention.

The same character of reference has been employed in connection witheach of these figures to designate similar parts.

While the general oonformation of the re tort does not intimatelyconcern my improvements, I have chosen to illustrate a fewcharacteristic types to which they may be applied. These, it will beobserved, have the common feature of a false bottom, affording aprotective shield and a ventilating-passage beneath the floor proper ofthe retort, which floor is further provided with longitudinal ribs orridges interiorly of the ventilatingpassage designed to stiffen orstrengthen the structure and also increase the radiating-surface forcooling the floor of the retort to avoid its deterioration or injury.Moreover, in the types of Figs. I and III especially, these ribs orridges are supplemented by others borne by the false bottom or floor ofthe ventilating-passage as well and serve the purpose of causing aperforation once formed in the floor of the retort to become in a largermeasure self-sealing through the particular disposition of these ribs orridges, and thus avoiding needless waste of the treated material.

These retorts may be molded by hand or machine after the usual mannerfrom suitable material, St. Louis fire-clay mixed with burnt clay orchamotte having been found exceedingly well adapted for the purpose.Care must be taken in proportioning the parts in order to preventbreakage or cracking of the retort during the process of drying. The topand side walls a are made of substantially uniform thickness to inclosethe retort-chamber b; but the floor 0 is longitudinally ribbed, as at c,interiorly of the ventilating-passage cl, formed by the adjacent falsebottom or fire-shield e, spaced at a short distance therefrom, butpreferably integral therewith. At

the rear of this passage one or more vents 0 may be provided, while theforward opening or mouth of said ventilating-passage, which in thefurnace will be considerably lower than the vent, is open to induce thecirculation of air through the passage and about the depending ribs,thus serving to cool the floor 0, which, moreover, is shielded from thedirect action of the furnace by the false bot tom 0.

In some types of furnace the vent or vents may advantageously be omittedor closed during heating, the cooling action being secured by the airblanket or cushion afforded by the space or opening (1, constituting anair-chamber.

Under the high degree of heat to which the retorts are subjected forconsiderable periods and maintained for the distillation of thecontained charge of zinc ore or oXid any tendency of the retort to sagor break is overcome by the sustaining longitudinal ribs or ridges,which are not only of greater thickness-than the walls, but remain thecoolest portions of the structure, being exposed on three sides to theinduced air-currents. These parts are so disposed, however, that they donot interfere with the ordinary mode of charging and operatingtheretorts.

Since the ends of the retort alone are utilized for supporting it in thefurnace, the mouth may be stren thened in some cases with advantage by athickened portion or eX- ternal lip, as at a), the rear end wallfurnishing the additional strength at this point.

Of course in older retorts perforations may occur before said retortsmay profitably be withdrawn from service, and accordingly theventilating-passage preferably is somewhat constricted to cause theretort to be largely self-sealing or, if desired, the ribs 6, providedin some types on the upper face of the false bottom, may alternate inposition with the ribs 0 further to restrict the passage at the mostlikely points of breakage or perforation in the floor of the retort,whereby the contained material or charge of semimolten or highly-heatedore and coal will quickly clog or close an opening or break, thuspreventing any considerable escape and loss of zinc. Often such breaksmay be repaired when the refuse is removed from the retort, sinceinstead of being hidden and often remaining undiscovered for some timewhile discharging into the chimney-stack, as with the ordinary type ofretort, the perforations are bound to occur Where their presence is ilromptly indicated or detected and may be efciently closed beforeserious damage is done to the retort.

As before indicated, my invention is not concerned with the generalcontour of the receiving the charge, of a false bottom affording aventilating-passa e beneath the floor of the said chamber, an meanstherein comprising a corrugated or ribbed under face for increasing theradiating-surface of the floor of said retort-chamber, substantially asset forth.

2. In a structure of the class described, the

combination with the retort-chamber formed of fire-clay walls ofsubstantially uniform thickness, of a series of strengthening ridges orribs molded integrally along its bottom surface, and adapted to stay thestructure for support from its ends, and a false bottom, inclosing thestrengthening-ridges, thereby forming an air-passage forwardly open andrearwardly provided with a vent, substantially as set forth.

3. In a structure of the class described, the combination with aretort-chamber for receiving the charge, of a false bottom affording aventilating-passage beneath the floor thereof, and a series oflongitudinal ribs or ridges integral with the floor for increasing itsradiating-surface, the said ribs being positioned within theventilating-passage, substantially as set forth.

4. In a structure of the class described, the combination with theretort-chamber, of a false bottom or shield affording aventilatingpassage of restricted size beneath the same, and a series ofalternating ribs or ridges on the top and bottom surfaces of theventilating-passage for making 'the structure-selfsealing in case ofbreakage or perforation of the floor, substantially as set forth.

Signed at Cleveland, this 28th day of December, 1903, in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD ZIESING.

Witnesses:

EDWARD W. FURST, ALBERT LYNN LAWRENCE.

